Imperfect beginnings: an introduction

 I was listening to a Brené Brown podcast where she was talking about the article Your ‘Surge Capacity’ Is Depleted — It’s Why You Feel Awful. 

One of the things she or it mentioned was that now that we have hit six months of crisis, we have depleted all of our reserves and we must find a new source of strength. The paradox (I think that's the right word?) is that we can't do that until we have acknowledged how hard it has been so far. 

You may find my writing now less precise, but I am giving it an imperfect try and trying not to overthink it because frankly I don't have the bandwidth. Like many of you that I have talked to, my head is full of fog most of the time, especially when I try to write. I make and ignore more typos than I ever have before. 

Another thing Brené mentions is that when we are struggling with something, we are rarely struggling alone. She mentions that phenomenon when the one student bravely asks the question and there is relief written across the faces of 90% of the class who also had the same question. So here, in this space, I will attempt to share honestly how things have been, how things are, in the hope that I will make others and myself feel less alone. This will most certainly delve into topics not usually "aired", and that is intentional. 

I nearly always wait before sharing things, wait for it to not be so fresh. But in these unprecedented times (I know we are all sick of this phrase, yet here we are), I don't think we have that luxury. I think the only way for us to collectively move forward is through radical vulnerability about how hard things are. We are seeking deep connection with others, having had most day to day connections removed or severely altered. So let's begin.